Our event industry has not seen such a profound and impactful strategic shift since the early days following 9/11. In those days, we could not have handled the pivot many are making today in shifting from live events to online event formats. Technology and network infrastructures were simply not advanced enough to support the tremendous rise in demand. 

Many say we are facing challenging times. We are, but isn’t that view a bit glass-half-empty? I prefer to see this as one of the biggest growth opportunities of our event industry.

While the industry is seeing a notable shift in pushing new meetings to 2021 and later, a Northstar Meetings Group survey showed that event planners are seeing increasing demand for all things online for the next 12-18 months.

Even after live events and conferences make their way back into marketing strategies and budgets, online events will continue to be a part of the event industry. They may not exclusively dominate the event space as they are today, but I believe there are three big reasons online events are not going anywhere. 

3. Attendee experience becomes more important.

While attendee experience has always played a role in the decisions made surrounding live events, the rise of online events is shifting the focus, and rightly so, to the attendee experience. The way I see it, allowing attendees to attend an event in a way they’re most comfortable with is going to become increasingly important. Even when live events return (and they will), some people are simply not going to travel for a while.

By shifting to online events, planners are opening up their events to new attendees who, for one reason or another, have not been able to attend.

This is why event planners who have shifted their scheduled live events to online formats are seeing impressive attendee numbers. Some event planners have seen double or triple their typical attendee count for live events.

In the future, I recommend adding online components or dedicated online sessions to live events so that brands will continue to see greater attendee reach, have new event monetization opportunities with sponsorships, and ultimately allow attendees to consume their content in the way that they choose, not how the event planner chooses. 

Online events are not going anywhere.

Even when live events return to the mainstream, online events are likely to continue to play a part in event strategies. From expanding sponsorships to amplifying brand reach, offering online event options as a part of live events may become a large opportunity for companies that serve the event industry. And I believe the decision to retain online elements for conferences, meetings and events will be mainstream for some time to come. (resource: Forbes.com)

Another demonstration in support of Black Lives Matter is slated to happen in downtown Vancouver on Friday. This will be the city’s first large-scale Juneteenth protest commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. 

The march will coincide with an eight-hour shutdown of cargo operations at B.C. ports to mark the occasion.

While the event’s origins are 155 years ago in Texas, this year’s Juneteenth protests have taken on greater significance across North America, as protests and awareness about anti-Black racism grow.

6. So, why are people marking Juneteenth in Vancouver?

   Granted this is an event marking a poignant moment in American history, but Clement Isanganino says there are important parallels to contemporary Canada. 

   He is a spokesperson for Black Vancouver, which is organizing Friday’s Freedom March. 

   Clement Isanganino is a spokesperson for Black Vancouver which is organizing Friday’s Freedom March. (Stacie DaPonte)

   “This is about human rights fundamentally … Americans like to celebrate Fourth of July,” he said. “But what kind of independence is it that leaves out Black people and only gives it to some people? It’s kind of hypocritical to celebrate that.”

   When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, slavery was still rampant.

   He says Juneteenth is an opportunity to educate oneself about Canada’s dark and complicated history with racism against the Black community.

   “I went to school in Canada, I’m Black, and I only found that slavery existed here a few years ago,” he said. “How come we’re not talking about this more openly and teaching the truth in schools.”

   Looking toward Canadian history, Isanganino says there are many examples of systemic racism despite promises of  equality. 

   For example, nearly 4,000 American segregated Black soldiers helped build the Alaska Highway, which starts in Dawson Creek, B.C., during the Second World War. During the Second World War, Black soldiers largely were given menial construction, janitorial and cooking duties instead of active fighting — and despite that, their contributions were largely forgotten. 

   In this 1942 photo provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History, soldiers work at a makeshift bench while working on the Alaska Highway, in the Northern Sector of Alaska. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History via AP)

   “We’ve got to understand that there are still ankle shackles attached — it’s called systemic racism.”

   For many in the Black community, Francis says true freedom is still far from reality. 

   “There’s a freedom on paper which doesn’t reflect the lived experience of Black Canadians and Americans today,” she said. “We’re still waiting for our Juneteenth moment … when we’ll be treated equally.”

   While protesters are marching in Vancouver, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association have agreed to shut down cargo operations at B.C. ports from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to mark Juneteenth.

   “As businesses, as workers, as British Columbians, as Canadians, we cannot sit idly by. We cannot accept racism, hate and intolerance directed at people because of their ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation or faiths,” the union and employer said in a joint press release.